A new piece of technology is being considered for the Roads Policing Unit (RPU) in An Garda Síochána, and it’s upsetting the gardaí.

Rank and file members are concerned a new app monitoring their work on policing roads could be used to spy on officers.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) is resisting the roll-out of the new app, which is intended to strengthen roads policing.

This state-of-the-art technology, designed for use on garda mobility devices, would monitor in detail how individual officers enforce road traffic laws for 30 minutes each day, tracking their activity in real time.

However, the future of a trial is uncertain after the association representing rank-and-file officers claimed it was not adequately consulted and that the system could be used to spy on officers.

They have brought this on themselves though. It comes about as a result of the Crowe Report.

Crowe Horwath, a leading accountancy and business advisory firm, were engaged by An Garda Síochána in February, 2024, to undertake a review of Roads Policing activity and operations. Their report presented independent findings and recommendations to An Garda Síochána.

I had a look at it and some of it didn’t make easy reading for me as a former member of that organisation.

They found that productivity amongst RPU members appeared to depend on the personal work ethic, disposition and level of interest of individual members.

They encountered some gardaí who appeared to be strongly motivated to be highly........

© Evening Echo